Letters at Length

Tuesday

Jan 22, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Football story blown out of proportion

Football story blown out of proportion

I am a proud player on the Ashland High School football team and I am writing in reference to the hazing event that happened during the Linfield Football Camp last summer. I did not have any connections to anything that happened that day and I am very upset with how the local media have handled the situation. I believe that the story has been blown way out of proportion. Our program and Coach Hall take pride in preparing our players to be good men in society when they leave high school and we have never done any wrong to this community.

I am very grateful for the amazing city that we live in and I am especially grateful for how the community has supported Ashland football for the past 100 years. I want the public to know how uncharacteristic of Ashland football this is. I have never heard of anything like this in our program at any level. There has been talk of the school administration trying to cancel our team's trip to Japan this summer for the misconduct at the camp. I believe that would be a harsh and severe punishment to the entire team for the actions of a few. That would strip our team of an amazing experience to be shared between us for the rest of our lives. We have worked hard and raised a lot of money that the community has gratefully donated to us. Nothing would destroy our morale more than knowing all of our hard work was for nothing.

I am asking the community to please continue to support us in our fundraising and remember Ashland High School football for what it is. I believe it is a brotherhood between boys who learn trust, teamwork and discipline while they become men alongside their friends. Like our beloved football coach and my fifth-grade teacher David Kitchell, who passed away five years ago, used to say: "We love and care for each other".

Go Grizzlies!

Danial White

Ashland

Recology letter was incorrect

The Letter at Length entitled "New garbage bag charges are unfair," published Jan. 10, was factually incorrect on a number of fronts.

The main thrust of the letter was that Recology Ashland Sanitary Service had unfairly and unilaterally changed the charges associated with participation in the very popular "yellow bag" disposal program. Specifically, the letter asserted that "The bags are enormous, capable of holding 50 gallons of liquid, yet Recology has decided I must buy a new one for every month and must pay the company to pick it up every month. And I must pay even if no pick-up is made."

This is simply not true. The "yellow bag" program remains unchanged. Customers purchase pre-paid "yellow bags" and put them out at the curb for pickup whenever they choose to. There is no other charge of any kind, whatsoever, and no requirement to "buy a new one for every month."

The letter further asserts "The new charges are not listed anywhere on the sanitation service's website. Therefore, it looks as if some deliberate obfuscation is occurring and we seniors are being taken advantage of." Again, nothing could be further from the truth. The new charges are not listed on the website because there are no new charges.

Lastly, the letter states "I have heard Recology wants to close the bustling recycling center on Water Street." Once again, not true. Recology operates the recycling center as a part of the franchise agreement with the city of Ashland to promote recycling. The city owns the property, and the city must decide whether or not the recycling center will remain open. If the recycling center is, in fact, closed down, it will be because the city, not Recology, wants it closed. And representatives of the city have already said that no decision regarding the fate of the recycling center will be made without public input.

Going forward it would be helpful for all parties concerned to contact Recology with their questions or concerns before publishing grossly misleading letters and unfairly besmirching Recology's reputation.